Accor optimistic despite poor 2009

14 October 2009

The company predicts revpar in China to drop by 20-30 percent this year, largely as a result of a wide range of new supply coming into this fast-growing market.
Michael Issenberg, Accor’s Asia-Pacific chairman, revealed to Reuters that despite the tough conditions he believes the situation should stabilise in 2010. ‘Next year, you are not going to see anything (so dramatic) in terms of drops in China.’ he said. ‘In China, while you still had a lot more supply coming in, you still had growth in demand.’

The global economic downturn has inflicted severe pain on the hotel sector, with major operators such as InterContinental Hotels saying that a recovery for the industry could be two years away.

Accor, operator of the Sofitel, Novotel and Pullman brands, announced earlier this month that it would invest 80 million euros ($114 million) in hotels in Asia-Pacific in 2010, roughly in line with the amount the company invested in the region this year.

Accor operates 380 hotels in Asia-Pacific, including an expected 85 in China by year-end. China is one of the company’s most important markets in Asia, home to 24 of its 54 new hotels opening in the region this year.

In May, Accor said it planned to add 30,000 rooms globally this year, and that 40 percent of those would be in Asia-Pacific.

ADVERTISEMENT

India is the company’s other main focus in Asia. Earlier this month, Accor announced that it planned to have 50 hotels in India by 2012